The world of volleyball in New York State received exciting news last week!  Club volleyball can now compete, and HS school high risk sports can start!  This is earlier than anticipated. We are moving forward rescheduling practices and tournaments in WNY and the Finger Lakes regions. At this time traveling is restricted outside of these regions.

Following is updated information regarding Niagara Frontier Volleyball practice and competition schedules.

PRACTICES:

The recent announcement removing Erie County from Orange status allows teams return to Practice Schedule A.  Practice Schedule A (beginning the week of Feb. 8th) will help teams prepare for upcoming tournaments and expand competitive drills.  Groups of three National and Regional teams will share two courts. Teams will train on their side of net when court sharing to reduce teams mixing during drills. Each team will have equal minutes alone on a court while the other two teams run competitive drills or scrimmage on an adjacent court. Practice schedules are found at www.nfvbjuniors.com/practice-schedules.

Due to the fewer number of teams, the 12U Girls and Boys will not be sharing courts but practice times will be moved from 5:30 to 7pm on Mondays and Wednesdays. (See practice dates below)

Due to the fewer number of teams (and players per team) the Local teams on Fridays will keep the same time schedule but will share a court with one other team. This will allow more time to play near the end of each practice.

You will receive an email notification regarding any unanticipated practice changes and COVID protocols.

FEBRUARY – MAY PRACTICE CALENDAR:

2/8/21 - Practice Schedule A starts for ALL TEAMS ages 12-18
(www.nfvbjuniors.com/practice-schedules )
12U practices will move to 5:30 – 7:00 pm (Monday and Wednesday)
Local team practice times remain the same but new court assignments are noted.

3/19/21 - Last Local Team program practice.
Local teams will still finish the season competing in scheduled Queen City Events shown on their team pages. Local team participants will be notified if any training/practice opportunities become available during or after the team pause for school sports.

3/22/21 - Start practice pause for ALL teams (12U – 18U).
Regional and National 13U through 18U team practices will go on a temporary pause to accommodate the modified, JV and varsity school seasons. The 12U teams will resume practices following the Easter break (see below). However, Niagara Frontier will continue to offer limited training for those who wish to participate during and around their school schedule.  These clinic sessions will be announced on the Niagara Frontier website and via email.  As well, some of the National teams will still practice on various scheduled Sunday evenings in order to prepare for traveling to larger scheduled events (ex: National Qualifiers).  That information will be forthcoming.

4/12/21 - 12U teams will resume practices on Mondays and Wednesdays.
Our intent is to continue training and competitions for 12U ages assuming school programs are not available for those age groups. There may be 12U coaching assignment adjustments to accommodate those coaching high school or college. Watch for future announcements.

Mid-May date TBD - Tentatively, all National and Regional will resume practices.  
Once a clear high school season schedule becomes available resumption of both practice and tournament schedules for May will be announced.

TOURNAMENT COMPETITION

Niagara Frontier scrimmage/training events will continue through February 6th and 7th. Our staff and other members of WEVA have been working to organize and schedule tournaments from February 13th through March 21st. The most current and updated tournament team schedule can be found on your team page. Please note that some event dates have been altered from what you may have seen prior to yesterday.

We also know that these weekend events are fast approaching and numerous. We will push to stay on top of registration and membership requirements (ex: Sports Engine requests and WEVA membership) so our players can take advantage of these opportunities to compete.

All facilities in both Buffalo and Rochester areas have agreed to allow 2 coaches and 3 adult chaperones per team maximum to stay in accordance with capacity and safety regulations. Chaperones will have limited duties in helping team to maintain guidelines and policies at each venue. Niagara Frontier Sports is installing live stream equipment so all families will have access to viewing competitions at our building.

Niagara Frontier will be promoting events with collegiate coaches and we look forward to their engagement. Please note all coaches, chaperones and college coaches will need to check in when entering tournament facilities. Team Coaches will be responsible for coordinating Chaperones for each event. It is essential we continue to follow all protocols to keep our doors safely open.

During the HS season some Niagara Frontier Volleyball national teams will still travel to large events (e.g., NEQ, MAPL, Can Am, etc.) if players and coaches are available, and of course, based on travel allowances. Travel for each team will be on a case-by-case basis. Communication will be made via email as club leadership knows more from tournament directors and receives feedback from coaches and families. Practice time will be available for these teams prior to traveling.

As I said in my message to families and coaches over the weekend, it is great to see the excitement on the faces of the players during our recent practices. The opportunity to participate and compete against other teams has been long awaited. Get on board and let’s make the most out of the upcoming weeks.

Rocco, Dan, Carolyn and the Niagara Frontier staff